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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28771308">Quiet Reality</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ake_chae/pseuds/ake_chae'>ake_chae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IZONE (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crime Fighting, Death, Detectives, F/F, Forensics, Murder, Science, Time Travel, Violence, scientists - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:07:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28771308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ake_chae/pseuds/ake_chae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"If you could change it all, would you?"</p><p>All across the city of Seoul, dead bodies are appearing. What they all have in common? A QR code tattooed between their shoulder blades. Upon closer investigation, these codes aren't merely tattoos. They bring a much darker truth. When faced with this dangerous reality, forensic scientist Kim Chaewon finds herself in unimaginable situations. Between her missing friend and the peculiar woman who keeps appearing in the center of all this chaos, Chaewon learns that not everything is as it seems.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Yena/Kim Chaewon (IZONE), Choi Yena/Lee Chaeyeon, Kim Chaewon (IZONE)/Lee Chaeyeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here's the first chapter of my new work. Updates will more than likely be very slow as I'm currently in an important exam year in school. I hope you all enjoy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun had just begun to peek its head above the horizon when the early morning peace and quiet was disturbed.</p><p> </p><p>Slamming the car door shut behind her, Detective Lee Chaeyeon walked briskly down the dimly-lit alley. Contrary to most, Chaeyeon often found herself in the dark and dingy backstreets of Seoul. To her, it was just another day on the job.</p><p> </p><p>She grumbled slightly to herself. Yes, she was well used to morning calls and early rises, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed them. The phone call had come in less than half an hour ago. A young woman had been on a morning jog. Deciding to take a shortcut through an unpleasant looking alley, she came across a dead body. Chaeyeon hoped the woman was gone from the scene. Her obvious panic would be distracting and Chaeyeon wasn’t sure if she’d have the patience to deal with it this morning.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take long for Chaeyeon to reach her destination.</p><p> </p><p>“Detective.” Chaeyeon was greeted by police and forensic scientists with sharp nods or quick words.</p><p> </p><p>“Right this way.” Chaeyeon was led to the crime scene. She pulled gloves onto her hands and observed the scene with an experienced, honed gaze. Everyone knew Lee Chaeyeon as one of the best detectives in the force, solving crimes and arresting criminals in record speed; she was unmatched.</p><p> </p><p>Before her lay the body of a middle aged man. He wore nothing but boxers and an expensive pair of brown leather shoes. His body was laced with paper thin cuts, criss-crossing across every inch of bare skin. Every single cut looked deliberate, too exact to have been an unplanned attack.</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon stalked carefully around the scene, trying her best not to disrupt the forensic scientists as they worked. Noticing Chaeyeon, one of the forensic scientists stood and fell into pace beside her.</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Chaewon,” Chaeyeon acknowledged the woman. Chaeyeon had known Kim Chaewon for years, normally ending up working the same cases as each other. While not necessarily friends, their relationship definitely went beyond that of occasional work collogues. “What do we have?”</p><p> </p><p>“A murder,” Chaewon replied, without skipping a beat. “Premeditated by the looks of it. Cause of death appears to be blood loss but we’ll know for sure once the coroner has a look. We think the weapon must be a thin blade or wire of some sort. Hard to get an exact idea on how old the body is, but based on the condition of the lacerations, I’d guess at least four to five hours. We’re estimating at around 2am as the time of death but we’ll know for sure after consulting the coroner later.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon nodded as she absorbed each piece of information. This had been both a delicate and brutal killing. The wounds were too intricate and precise for something amateur or spontaneous. “Anything else?” she asked, crouching beside the body. “Have you identified the victim?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet,” Chaewon shook her head. “The body was found sitting upright as it is right now- we haven’t moved it. No form of identification or personal belongings were left on or around the body. We’re assuming the culprit took them. Not unusual, but a real pain for us.” Chaewon’s attempt to lighten the mood went straight over Chaeyeon’s head. Perhaps in a different situation, she’d laugh or make a witty comment, but she was fully focused on the case at hand.</p><p> </p><p>Based on the quality of his shoes and branded underwear, Chaeyeon could only assume he was a wealthy enough person. What kind of business did he partake in? Something worth getting himself killed for?</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do the incisions cover the entire body or just the front?” she asked, locking eyes with the other woman.</p><p> </p><p>Instead of replying, Chaewon gestured to two of her collogues, prompting them to turn the body so that its back was facing them. “As I already mentioned, we haven’t moved the body...” Chaewon’s voice trailed off as everyone’s attention was drawn to what was on the victim’s back.</p><p> </p><p>Right between the shoulder blades, in deep black ink, was a tattoo. There were no cuts or tears in sight, only a QR code tattooed onto the skin. It could have just been a normal tattoo, a new trend perhaps, but something in Chaeyeon’s gut told her that wasn’t the case. Maybe it could act as clue? And if not, a distinct tattoo like that would definitely be useful in identifying the body.</p><p> </p><p>Not wasting a breath, Chaeyeon reached for her phone to take a picture of, and scan the code. It took a few seconds for whatever the code brought them to to load, but when it did, well, no one was expecting what was shown.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god,” the colour drained from Chaeyeon’s face and horror was evident in her voice. She spoke barely above a whisper. “This is fucking awful. Whoever did this is deranged.”</p><p> </p><p>In all their years of working together, Chaewon had never seen Chaeyeon react like this. The calm and collected woman who never let anything faze her no longer stood before Chaewon. Chaeyeon looked genuinely terrified.</p><p> </p><p>While her gut feeling about it leading to a clue of some sort was correct, Chaeyeon never predicted it would be this.</p><p> </p><p>If Chaeyeon’s shocking reaction was anything to go off, whatever the QR code brought them to must be serious, yet Chaewon still found her eyes moving apprehensively to the screen.</p><p> </p><p>A video had appeared on Chaeyeon’s screen after scanning the code. It was only about a minute in length, but that minute was already too much.</p><p> </p><p>Clicking play to let the others see what it was, she forced her gaze to the screen once again. As much as she didn’t want to watch it again, she knew she had to.</p><p> </p><p>The video depicted, in all its gory glory, the murder of the man who lay below them. It captured a hooded figure pressing a sharp blade into the skin of the man. Chaeyeon could only assume this torture went on longer than the recorded minute, and tensed at the thought of the pain the man must have felt.</p><p> </p><p>“Who would do something like this?” Chaewon asked, disbelief and shock evident in her voice. “Record themselves murdering someone?” She felt sick. If she wasn’t careful, she might actually get sick. Examining crime scenes with dead bodies was something she was used to, but actually seeing a murder being committed...</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon felt a shiver run down her spine as she tried to collect herself. “We really must be dealing with a psychopath.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Over the course of the next week, many similar cases arose. Corpses in nothing but undergarments and shoes, skin littered with cuts and, when turned around, QR codes tattooed between every single one of their shoulder blades. Despite the very similar cases, all with almost identical videos linked to their QR codes, they still had no leads to the culprit.</p><p> </p><p>It was the eighth day following the discovery of the initial body when Chaeyeon received a call.</p><p> </p><p>She had been looking through different videos, analysing each setting. They had come to the conclusion that all the murders had taken place in the same place and then the bodies had been moved to where they were later discovered. But the places where the bodies were discovered looked like normal crime scenes, not arranged ones. The splattered blood and traces of DNA were too inconsistent and scattered to have been planted, unless the culprit had taken hours to make it look as believable as possible. That of course was impossible, given the short space of time between the death and discovery of some of the bodies. And then of course the videos themselves showed that the murders took place elsewhere. Why would the culprit spend so much time setting the scene if they knew the video showed the real location? It was messing with Chaeyeon’s head.</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, the ringing of her phone interrupted her endless spiral of thoughts.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Chaewon,” Chaeyeon answered. “What’s up?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve found a connection between all of the victims,” Chaewon didn’t waste a second and jumped straight to the point. This was something she nearly always did, and something Chaeyeon had grown to respect. “Tell me, Chaeyeon, have you been in contact with your father recently?”</p><p> </p><p>The question took Chaeyeon by surprise and, for some reason, formed an anxious knot in the pit of her stomach. “Not in a few days. Why? Chaewon? Did something happen?” Her efforts to keep her voice level were in vain, distress laced her tone.</p><p> </p><p>“All the victims worked for Quadrivium Ltd,” Chaewon explained. She hesitated before continuing. Maybe she should have told someone else about this, got someone else to investigate. <em>No</em>. Chaeyeon had the right to know, especially if it could involve her family. Plus, she was the best detective around, if anyone could get clues or answers, it would be her. “Doesn’t your father work there as well?”</p><p> </p><p>The knot in Chaeyeon’s stomach was squeezing tighter with each passing second. Fear gripped her and she struggled to answer.</p><p> </p><p>It was like a switch flipped in her mind and she finally realised why some of the victim’s names had been vaguely familiar to her. Shim Jaeyoung, the first victim, had worked in the same department as her father for a year before transferring to a different department. Kwon Nayeon and Park Jinkyeong were both former employees. Her triumph at her discovery was short lived as panic washed over her again. Why were staff of that company being targeted? And what were the chances of her father’s body being the next corpse they came across? Or was it possible her father could have some information that could help with the investigation?</p><p> </p><p>“I-I think I should go check on my dad,” Chaeyeon finally mumbled. “Maybe he knows something? Yeah. Bye Chaewon. I’ll talk to you later.” Chaeyeon couldn't care less if she came across as rude for rushing to leave, pleasantries were the last thing on her mind at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait Chaeyeon, be caref-”</p><p> </p><p>As soon as Chaeyeon had hung up on the phone, she raced towards her car. She hadn’t heard Chaewon’s remark, and even if she had, she would have paid it no mind. The thought of her father in danger was her worst fear.</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon clumsily shoved her key into the ignition and started the engine.</p><p> </p><p>She drove almost recklessly to her father’s house: she didn’t even care about the speed limit. She just wanted to get there as soon as possible. Wanting to distract herself from unwelcome thoughts, she focused all her attention to the worn road ahead of her.</p><p> </p><p>Upon arriving, she jumped out of the car. Without even bothering to lock her car, Chaeyeon ran up to the house and let herself in.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad?” She called as soon as she entered. When there was no answer, Chaeyeon shouted for her father again, voice cracking and filled with panic. What if the culprit had gotten to him already? What if when Chaeyeon opened his bedroom door, she was met with cold, dead eyes staring back at her? What if-</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t until she heard a toilet flush that her panic receded, replaced instead with slight embarrassment. He’d just been in the bathroom, <em>of course</em> he’d just been in the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>“Gosh Dad! You almost scared the life out of me,” Chaeyeon complained, walking down the hall towards the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as her father saw her, he froze on the spot. His eyes flit nervously from side to side. “No, no,” he fretted. “Why are you here? You shouldn’t have come.”</p><p> </p><p>A nervous laugh escaped from Chaeyeon’s throat as she stopped. She’d never seen her father behave like this. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“I tried to stop them- stop her,” Chaeyeon’s father was hysterical. “It’s too late, she’s taken them all and now she’ll take us. Oh lord no, please let them have spared you!”</p><p> </p><p>“What on earth are you on about?” Her father’s distressed state was unnerving. He was obviously scared, but scared of what? Who were these people he spoke of? And why would they be after her and her father?</p><p> </p><p>“Have you been marked?” Chaeyeon’s father suddenly rushed towards her, frantically tugging at her coat. “I pray they haven’t gotten to you yet.” Chaeyeon flinched away from him, trying to avoid his deranged snatching hands.</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon grabbed her father’s wrists in an attempt to restrain him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she exploded. She eyed her father in disbelief. “Dad, what’s going on with you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Between your shoulder blades,” her father seemed to have calmed down momentarily. His voice steady, but stern. “Let me check.” It wasn’t a question, it was an order. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but the unsettled feeling in her stomach ensured her that it was anything but good.</p><p> </p><p>Hesitantly, Chaeyeon shrugged off her jacket and pulled down the back collar of her jumper to let her father see.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no,” she heard her father take a step back. This was followed by the sound of his back hitting the wall. “No, no, no. I’m so sorry my dear.” Chaeyeon turned to see her father sliding to the floor, head buried in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>Between her shoulder blades? Marked?</p><p> </p><p>Chaeyeon’s blood ran cold as she finally realised what her father meant.</p><p> </p><p>“Scan it,” she said firmly, trying to avoid the tremble in her voice. She walked towards him and pulled him to his feet. “Scan it, or I will.” She handed her phone to her father.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m so sorry,” her father whispered, doing as she said. He held his hand out shakily, refusing to look at the screen himself.</p><p> </p><p>Trying to push down the fear rising within her, Chaeyeon took the phone back from her father.</p><p> </p><p>She raised a shaking hand, ready to press play on the video from the QR code tattooed on her back. She knew already what the video was. But <em>how</em> could it be that? And how did the tattoo get there?</p><p> </p><p>There was only one way to find out.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as her finger touched the screen, Chaeyeon’s vision sunk into darkness and she crumpled to the floor, phone dropping in the process.</p><p> </p><p>The last thing she heard was her father cry, as the video of her oncoming death began to play.</p><p> </p><p>“I warned you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter two is done! I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think of it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Chaewon hadn’t heard back from Chaeyeon that day she hadn’t really been worried. She did not expect to hear back from her straight away, Chaeyeon often didn't reply quickly, or contact Chaewon of her own accord. But a complete week of no contact in any shape or form was something Chaewon wasn't used to. Chaeyeon was not the type to say something and then not follow through with it.</p><p> </p><p>It was then that Chaewon started to worry. Perhaps she was just caught up with work? Or maybe she was spending time with her family? Chaewon knew she was just making excuses to try calm her stormy mind. And the raging feeling in her gut was not reassuring in the slightest.</p><p> </p><p>It was around this time that it was brought to Chaewon’s attention that no one had heard from the detective in the last week. She hadn’t shown up at her office in the police station and no one knew where she was. The police chief, Chaeyeon’s boss, hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her since she’s left the station the same day Chaewon had called her.</p><p> </p><p>Realising she’d potentially been the last person to speak with the detective, Chaewon was terrified. What if something had happened when Chaeyeon went looking for her father? Chaewon felt overwhelmed with guilt and worry. She was the one who told Chaeyeon of their lead on her father’s company. If anything happened it was her fault, wasn’t it? If Chaeyeon was dead-</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon refused to let the thought sit in her mind for too long. She knew Chaeyeon, and knew her well. There was no way she wouldn’t be able to get herself out of any dangerous situation. Something else must have happened.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon was quick to inform Chaeyeon’s boss that she’d spoken to Chaeyeon on the phone that day.</p><p> </p><p>“I was informing her on the lead regarding Quadrivium Ltd sir,” Chaewon said, holding the phone close to her ear. “I know her father works for the company so I thought it would be best to let her know. If I’d known this would her happened…” Chaewon trailed off, squeezing her hand into a fist.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for telling me,” the police chief replied. “And don’t blame yourself. Chaeyeon would have found out and gone anyway even if you hadn’t told her.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon let out a breath she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding. She’d been kicking and blaming herself for what happened, but the reality was that if not her, someone else definitely would have told Chaeyeon about the lead in the case. Chaeyeon heading to her father’s house was something that couldn’t have been avoided.</p><p> </p><p>“We plan to head over to Mr. Lee’s residence as soon as possible,” the chief of police said. “If it’s the last place Chaeyeon was we might be able to find something to help us locate her current whereabouts.”</p><p> </p><p>“Take me with you!” Chaewon surprised herself with her sudden outburst. She coughed awkwardly, clearing her throat. “I mean uh, well maybe I should accompany you. I’m the head forensic scientist on this case and um, if you end up needing my skill set, I’ll already be there instead of you having to wait around for me.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon was well aware that the police chief knew she was talking out of her ass, but he didn’t comment on it, which she was extremely grateful for.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon could only hope that the use of her job skills wouldn’t be required for anything other than hints of Chaeyeon’s whereabouts. While violent crime scenes didn’t affect her anymore, she’d rather not see one today given the circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.</p><p> </p><p>Only about an hour after their phone call, Chaewon arrived at Chaeyeon’s father’s house with the police team. She had three of her colleagues with her so that they could cover the area of the house quicker.</p><p> </p><p>They all entered and got to work searching through the house.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh god.” Chaewon’s attention was drawn to the person who had spoken. A newer officer had made his way into a hallway off from the entrance room. Chaewon followed him into the hallway and felt her heart drop at the sight before her.</p><p> </p><p>Mr. Lee’s dead body, in the exact same condition as that of his colleagues’. Lacerations all over the front and then a familiar tattoo on his back.</p><p> </p><p>Overwhelming terror washed over Chaewon as she stood six foot away from the corpse. Was Chaeyeon’s body lying somewhere in this house as well? Just rotting away for a week?</p><p> </p><p>The group began to search the house with a new determined fervour. Chaewon ran from room to room, searching frantically. Where is she?</p><p> </p><p>After an intense search, no trace of Chaeyeon, dead or alive, was found in the house. The only thing of hers there was her phone, cracked and dead on the tiled floor of the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon tried numerous times to turn the phone on but she had no luck. They agreed to bring it back to the station to be charged and, if necessary, fixed.</p><p> </p><p>The group returned to the body of Mr. Lee and took the time to exam it and the surrounding area properly. Chaewon couldn’t bring herself to scan the QR code, instead letting a colleague do it. It was confirmed that the video was the exact same as all the others, and there was no sign of Chaeyeon in it either.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon felt defeated. She should be relieved that Chaeyeon wasn’t dead, well as far as they knew anyway, but the ugly feeling from earlier that day remained in her gut. If Chaeyeon wasn’t here, then where was she?</p><p> </p><p>They did one final scan of the house, bagging and taking pictures of anything that could be used to help with the investigation.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon turned to her two colleagues. “I’m going to head over to Chaeyeon’s house,” she said. “See if we can find anything there. I’ll send another team over to her office at the station. The police chief gave us permission to search wherever we need to today so we’re best-off taking advantage of that.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon rang up some of her other colleagues, informing them of what was happening. They agreed to search the office at the police station and report back to her if they found anything.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon and her colleagues left Mr. Lee’s house after some parting words with the police team. Both groups would keep the other updated on anything they heard or came across.</p><p> </p><p>Piling into her car, Chaewon drove to Chaeyeon’s house. She’d only been there twice before so she was completely familiar with it. She did know though that Chaeyeon often left one of the back windows unlocked. Probably not the safest of things considering her reputation as a detective but there were many things about Chaeyeon that Chaewon could never understand.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon locked her car and led her team to the back of the house. She sighed in relief when the window had in fact been left open. At least they could get in without having to break down a door or pick a lock.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon slid herself through the window and then gestured for the others to do the same.</p><p> </p><p>Once they were all inside, they split the house into areas to search and immediately went to work.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon started in the kitchen and living room while her colleagues took the upstairs rooms and bathrooms.</p><p> </p><p>Both rooms seemed completely ordinary. They weren’t overly messy or suspiciously clean, just normal. The unwashed mug of coffee beside the sink told Chaewon that no one had been here in a while. Except for that, there was nothing that could help them find the detective.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon made her way towards the staircase, hopeful that maybe one of the others had found something. She was halfway up when one of her colleagues called for her. She quickened her ascent.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?” she followed the sound of her colleague’s voice and ended up in what appeared to be Chaeyeon’s home office.</p><p> </p><p>Case files and pictures were scattered all over the desk. A filing cabinet sat in the corner of the room. It looked like nothing had been touched in a while. Chaewon could only assume this is where Chaeyeon had been when they had spoken on the phone.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon approached her colleague to see what she had found.</p><p> </p><p>“All the files and pictures relate to the current investigation with the QR codes,” she explained to Chaewon, gesturing to certain files. “I’ve looked through the filing cabinet and open desk drawers and there’s nothing out of the ordinary. I haven’t been able to open the bottom drawer.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon glanced quickly through the open drawers before scanning the surface of the desk. Her eyes landed on a small key hidden under a picture of the first murder.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon grinned slightly and grabbed it. She put the key into the drawer lock, rotating it to open the drawer. She slid it open and examined what was inside.</p><p> </p><p>There were a few items.</p><p> </p><p>A gun, which Chaewon assumed was Chaeyeon’s standard work gun, as well as a few extra cartridges. Chaewon was quick to drop it, not trusting herself with the dangerous weapon.</p><p> </p><p>There were also some case files. There was a sticky note on the top file with Chaeyeon’s name and the date they had spoken on the phone on it. Chaeyeon must have taken them home with her from the police station. It looked as if she hadn’t gotten the chance to look through them yet. Chaewon put them to the side. She’d have a closer look at them later.</p><p> </p><p>The last item in the drawer was by far the most peculiar one. It appeared to be a compact mirror of sorts. The outside was a faded pink with gold edges and clasp, an intricate pattern etched into the wood. When opened, one side contained a mirror while the other had a small analog clock face. It was extremely odd and Chaewon had never seen it on Chaeyeon before. It was also a very strange item to be locked away with a gun and important files.</p><p> </p><p>While it definitely piqued her curiosity, it was still just a compact mirror. Chaewon put it in her pocket. She doubted that it could be used to help with their investigation, but something told her she shouldn’t leave it there.</p><p> </p><p>Since there wasn’t much else there, they decided to pack up Chaeyeon’s gun and the case files and head out. It seemed that no one else had been there since the day Chaeyeon rushed to her father’s house.</p><p> </p><p>The forensic scientists made their way to the back of the house and exited the same way they had entered. Chaewon closed the window over. Hopefully no one else would be able to tell it was unlocked.</p><p> </p><p>They walked around to the front of the house. As they headed towards Chaewon’s car, she noticed someone standing at the end of the pathway. There had been no one around when they had arrived earlier. Perhaps this person was just wandering through the area, but something about her unsettled Chaewon.</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me miss, can I help you?” the black-haired woman flinched at Chaewon’s voice. Chaewon had called out to her while walking towards her.</p><p> </p><p>The black-haired woman quickly shook her head, the corner of her mouth tugging up slightly. “Nope, don’t mind me, just passing through.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon narrowed her eyes as the woman walked away. Something about her made Chaewon feel like all her nerves were on edge. Maybe she was just overthinking things. But still, just standing outside of a missing woman’s house wasn’t exactly unsuspicious.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon helped her colleagues pack up before climbing into the car. She started the engine and pulled away from Chaeyeon’s house.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>As soon as she arrived home, Chaewon pulled the case files that had been locked in Chaeyeon’s desk onto her kitchen table.</p><p> </p><p>The first couple contained the complete compiled information regarding each of the murder victims. Chaewon skimmed through each one and noticed that the place of employment had been circled on each one.</p><p> </p><p>Of course. If Chaeyeon had only gotten these the day she went missing, she must not have had a chance to read through them yet.  From her reaction when Chaewon had called her, she hadn’t known all the victims were connected to Quadrivium Ltd.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon switched to the second set of files. These ones were information about Quadrivium Ltd staff, who were still alive. Chaewon concluded that Chaeyeon definitely hadn’t gotten a chance to look through these. But it also meant the police chief was right, even if Chaewon hadn’t told her, Chaeyeon would have found out and ended up at her father’s house that day.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon pulled out her phone and scrolled until she reached the police chief’s number.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?” the phone was answered after the third ring, but not by the police chief. Chaewon could only assume it was another officer.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello,” Chaewon greeted. “This is Kim Chaewon, I’m from the forensics department. I was wondering is the chief around.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah yes,” the officer replied. “Currently we’re interviewing staff at Quadrivium Ltd in relation to the investigation. You’re welcome to come over here, I’m sure the chief will speak to you when they’re done.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s great, thank you,” Chaewon hung up the phone and grabbed her keys.</p><p> </p><p>Her apartment was located surprisingly close to the company’s building so there was no need for her to bring her car.</p><p> </p><p>After a mere five-minute brisk walk, she was pulling the glass front door of the building open.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi how many I help you?” The receptionist greeted Chaewon as she walked towards her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m here with the police,” Chaewon flashed her identification. “What floor is the chief interviewing on?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes of course,” the receptionist replied. “It’s the fifth floor. Just take the elevator up. I think they’re using the second office to the left.”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon nodded in thanks before heading for the elevator. She entered, ignoring the employees that were in there with her, and pressed the button for the fifth floor.</p><p> </p><p>After a few awkward minutes, the doors opened to the fifth floor and Chaewon rushed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, Miss Kim.” Chaewon’s eyes shot up. A few feet away from her stood some police officers outside of an office.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening officers,” Chaewon greeted them, nodding stiffly. “This is where the interviews are happening, yes?”</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon’s eyes drifted over to the glass door and instantly widened. Through the strip of non-fogged glass, she could see a familiar looking black-haired woman.</p><p> </p><p>The feelings of suspicion hit Chaewon once again and she suddenly felt all the more aware of her surroundings.</p><p> </p><p>First, she’d been hovering suspiciously around a missing woman’s house, and now an employee of the company at the centre of this investigation. Chaewon’s gut was having a field day with these unsettled and nerved feelings.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon made a mental note to herself to keep an eye out for that woman.</p><p> </p><p>One of the officers nodded. “I think there’s only a few interviews left and then the chief will be back out.” His voiced dragged Chaewon out of her thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” she said. “Well, until then I’ll probably just walk around for a while, if that’s alright?”</p><p> </p><p>The officer nodded, assuring her that it was okay.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon bade the officers a quick farewell and began to walk leisurely down the hallways. She read the names on each office door as she passed, stopping at a certain one.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of the hallway was Chaeyeon’s father’s office.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon hesitated. Surely she was allowed in there, right? If anyone saw her in there, she could just say it was part of the investigation. A few minutes snooping wouldn’t hurt, right?</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon used her elbow to push down on the handle of the door. It swung open smoothly. She glanced around her before entering the room and closing the door softly behind her.</p><p> </p><p>The office was bigger and more spacious than Chaewon expected it to be. She had thought Chaeyeon’s father was just another employee at the company, but he must have been higher up.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon looked around the room, trying her best not to touch anything. The room consisted of a desk and chair, a few cabinets, and a small table with a couch on either side.</p><p> </p><p>Thankful that she’d brought gloves her, Chaewon slipped them on and walked to the desk. She started to shift through the different piles of papers, looking for anything that could be of use to the investigation or locating Chaeyeon’s whereabouts.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon felt disappointment rise in her as she found nothing of substance in the desk or the filing cabinets on either side. They were all just filled with piles of paper about whatever it was the company did.</p><p> </p><p>The last place she had to check was the tall wooden cabinet at the back of the room in the corner.</p><p> </p><p>She swung one door open and let her eyes scan over the shelves. Paper, mugs, books, more paper. Chaewon’s eyes stopped as she noticed a safe sitting on the bottom of the cabinet. Now this was interesting.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon squatted to get a closer look at the safe. It appeared to need a four-digit code. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of what the code could be.</p><p> </p><p>She made a few attempts only to receive an angry beep and a flashing red LED on the safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon sat back on her heels and huffed. What could the code possibly be?</p><p> </p><p>She let her eyes fly around the room before they landed on a frame on the desk. It was a picture of Chaeyeon receiving her detective’s badge. A sad smile flickered onto Chaewon’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon turned back to the safe. She’d try one more time.</p><p> </p><p>1-1-0-1</p><p> </p><p>The LED blinked green and let out two beeps, notifying Chaewon that it had unlocked. Chaewon gasped, reaching over to open the safe. Of course the code had been Chaeyeon’s birthday.</p><p> </p><p>Inside, there was a singular file, ‘PQR’ printed across the front in bold letters and a slightly familiar symbol below it.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon stared at the cover for a few seconds, trying to figure out where she’d seen it before. She pulled out her phone and took a quick picture of the cover.</p><p> </p><p>Just as she was about to open the file, a noise caught her attention- someone was outside the office.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon jumped into the cabinet, closing the wooden doors on herself. There was a small gap between where the two doors met. It was big enough that she could vaguely see what was happening in the room outside.</p><p> </p><p>The door opened and someone walked in. They headed straight for Mr. Lee’s desk.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon’s breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was.</p><p> </p><p>The black-haired woman.</p><p> </p><p>So, she really was right to be suspicious of her.</p><p> </p><p>Chaewon watched as the black-haired woman rummaged aggressively through the desk. She appeared be looking for something. What could she be looking for?</p><p> </p><p>The black-haired woman kicked the desk, causing Chaewon to flinch in her hiding spot. “Shit,” the black-haired woman cursed under her breath. “Where is it?”</p><p> </p><p>The woman moved from the desk to the filing cabinets and went through the same process: searching and then cursing in anger.</p><p> </p><p>All Chaewon could do was hold her breath and hope that the woman wouldn’t notice the only place she hadn’t searched- the wooden cabinet.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, luck wasn’t on Chaewon’s side.</p><p> </p><p>The woman moved on from the filing cabinets and started walking towards the cabinet Chaewon was hiding in.</p>
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